A Norwegian entrepreneur has built Fitness Point into a four-location gym business in Kigali, nearly eight years after first visiting Rwanda in 2018. Ole Haugum, the founder and CEO, operates facilities offering swimming pools, saunas, basketball courts, spinning and aerobics classes, along with women-only gym sections at multiple sites including a new location in Kanombe.
Haugum brought more than 40 years of experience in sport science, fitness training and elite coaching to Rwanda. He established his first gym in the United States in 1989 before operating gyms in Norway and launching the Fitness Point brand there around 2013. The cold Norwegian climate prompted him to consider relocating to a warmer country, and after touring existing gyms in Kigali in 2018, he saw room for improvement and moved to Rwanda in 2019. He described the local gym industry at the time as being at an early stage, similar to Europe and the United States 20 to 30 years ago.
The business now employs approximately 80 to 100 people and operates four locations, an arrangement Haugum said serves corporate clients whose employees are spread across different parts of Kigali. Fitness Point offers corporate memberships and various membership arrangements tailored to different customer needs. The company has also extended beyond conventional gym users, supporting Paralympic and sitting volleyball teams and other sporting groups to make fitness facilities more accessible. Building the business took time and effort, Haugum noted, describing the process as building "stone by stone" as interest from companies and individuals grew.
Haugum emphasised the importance of changing perceptions about fitness and exercise. He challenged the belief that gym activities are mainly for young people or those seeking muscular bodies, arguing that people in their 50s, 60s and 70s can significantly improve their strength, mobility and everyday functioning. He also disputed the notion that women who lift weights automatically develop bulky muscles, and questioned the idea that people need five or six weekly gym sessions to see results. Instead, he suggested that two or three well-structured training sessions weekly can deliver meaningful benefits.
According to Haugum, many people fail to maintain fitness routines because they lack proper guidance and have unrealistic expectations. He advised starting with smaller, achievable goals and seeking guidance from experienced trainers rather than pursuing ambitious targets that lead to discouragement. He also cautioned against the influence of social media images promoting unrealistic body standards, arguing that the real measure of success should be improved health and better everyday functioning.
Operating Fitness Point in Rwanda presents distinct challenges compared to his experience in Europe and the United States. Importing gym equipment into the landlocked country involves substantial logistical costs, while taxes and transportation expenses make setting up and maintaining modern facilities more expensive. Despite these obstacles, Haugum believes the market has sufficient potential to justify continued investment and expansion. For aspiring entrepreneurs, he recommended researching markets thoroughly, identifying something they genuinely care about and building gradually rather than pursuing quick success.